Digital currencies, especially decentralised platforms like Bitcoin, hold a lot of potential for disrupting traditional payment avenues. In the process it can empower merchants and grant them greater autonomy in the face of institutions such as banks and credit card companies, which have their own legitimate agendas and interests, but whose policies can disadvantage smaller merchants.

It provides a great introduction to digital currencies and is highly insightful. A good read for an beginner or expert.

I Am Sexist / Eurogamer EIC Tom Branwell“…it’s really hard to talk about sexism (in games or otherwise) when a large proportion of your audience hasn’t realised it is sexist, whether subtly or profoundly.”

Sometimes we unwittingly write sentences that acknowledges stereotypes, be it race or gender. This piece from Eurogamer’s Editor-in-Chief is mostly an admission on how video game journalists like myself can come off as sexist, but not on purpose. Rather, it’s the male-dominated culture of gaming that leads to such small-but-noticeable bouts of ignorance, which thankfully is taking in change as it evolves.

This male perspective piece goes well hand-in-hand with the Polygon article about diversity in last week’s Fireside feature. Besides, any article that ties in a book about racism called Experience into accidental gender stereotyping deserves some attention, right?

How Having a Daughter Will Change Your Leadership Style“A study of Danish companies showed that male CEOs actually started to pay their female employees more after they became dads to daughters. Firstborn daughters had the most influence–at their dad’s companies, the wage gap (the amount similarly qualified women and men are paid for similar work) closed by three per cent after they were born.”

It is frustrating when you are paid less even if you are equally qualified (in most cases, more qualified) than men — all because you belong to a certain gender. With all these talks around us on equality, it is saddening to see that the glass ceiling for women very much exists. This piece resonates with me because I come from a country where women are treated as second class citizens. This article talks about how a daughter makes you a better leader. I say a daughter makes you a better person. Period.